


Reborn

by softmaknae



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Character Death, Death, Demons, Fantasy, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-09-26 19:51:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20395225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softmaknae/pseuds/softmaknae
Summary: {ATTENTION}This is a story that I originally posted on my wattpad account (@minijongho). This is MY work, so I am NOT stealing it. I am simply posting it to see how it does on here.~~A boy named Xenon wakes up in a world unlike his own— at least he didn’t remember it to be this way. It’s filled with magic and creatures that he only heard about in fairytales. Throughout his journey, he finds out the reason why he was transported here with no recollection of his past, and who he truly was before he arrived.~~an au where san is put into a different world after he dies and doesn’t remember who he is~~





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my third story I have decided to publish online, so it may not be too great. I liked it though, and I’m still writing this non-stop so that’s a good thing. It’s a completely different kind of story, something I’m not used to writing st all so bear with me on that as well. Thank you!!
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes!!

“You are the one I’ve put my faith in. You, out of the millions of people who passed, seem worthy enough to be put to the test.”

How I yearned to figure out how to kill the pain striking my mind. My head pulsated with sharp twinges of red.

How did I end up like this? My mind was trying to dig out my memories of what had happened in the past few hours as I drifted in the world of darkness.

How was I supposed to get out? There were no pathways. No indication of a way out. No doors. No windows. Not even the slightest sliver of sun.

Where am I? What’s happened to me?

“I shall name you Xenon. You shall be sent into a new world; one that is unlike your own. You’ll be welcomed with open arms.”

The voice echoed within the gloomy room I was trapped inside, startling me. There wasn’t anyone with me. Where was it coming from?

“Your quest is to follow your heart. Follow it passionately in hopes of saving this world; for without you, they will be destroyed.”

Follow my heart?

I couldn’t even feel it.

After the being spoke their last wishes, I felt myself grow even weaker. The pain in my head only increased as time went on, and I was too weak to resist it’s temptation of slumber.

So I fell asleep just as stars began to appear in my solemn room filled with darkness.

———

_It’s been ten years since the last human arrived. Grandmother says that this means another should be arriving shortly._

_I’m not sure why they arrive on such a strict schedule, but then again, I don’t know how the gods truly work. No one does but Grandmother._

_This will be my first encounter. She’s been teaching me everything I need to know since mother passed away. How to approach it; how to speak to it._

_“This will be their first time in our world. Try not to scare it with anything extremely unusual.” She told me. “They’ll be like a child for the first few days. They’ll be curious about everything, and ask a ton of questions that sometimes even I don’t know the answer to. We will both have to try to help them in any way that we can.”_

_When Grandmother first spoke to me about this, I was unaware that there are so many different realms that we as elves have yet to explore. Royals speak of having discovered numerous different realms; realms that help the elves live better, and live longer._

_This world she has been speaking of; she knows little to nothing about it. All she knows is that they’re delicate and fragile creatures; very strange to us. They tend to be sensitive and their eyes tend to fill up with wonder as they learn about everything once more._

_Down inside of me, I’m scared to meet one. I’m not sure what to expect. Do they appear to be frightening?_

_Mother, I miss you. I wish you were here to comfort me as you used to._

_Grandmother has left me with chores to do while she fetches the new arrival from the center of the woods. I must do them before she returns._

_\- Kyero_

————

The wind cradled my face tenderly as it swept by. That was all I could feel. The wind. It soared beside my ears, tickling my eardrum as it whispered: Wake up. It's time.

Startled, I peeled my eyes open only to be greeted by many lights. They were floating above my body, seeming extremely perplexed at the sight of me. Where I was, I don't know. I couldn't recall any of the scenery as I slowly adjusted to the bright rays hitting my cheek.

The trees branched gingerly over the pond I was currently drifting in, shielding most of my naked body with it's blue leaves. 

Wait a minute.

Why was I naked? What was going on? How did I end up in this pond? Why am I still in it?

As soon as I figured out a way to get out, I found that it was fairly difficult. My legs felt like lead underneath me as I rotated onto my stomach, and attempted to swim to the nearest bank with nearly all the strength I could muster.

Moving through the water slowly, I attempted to wrap my head around where I was. Everything was glowing. And it wasn't purely because of the sun beaming off of objects... No. Everything had an aura surrounding it. I wasn't sure how to explain it to myself at the time, but every single organism around me was encircled with this faint purple essence.

Was everything like this before...? Before I ended up here?

My memory was failing me. I didn't have answers to anything I was asking myself. Why? If I somehow ended up here, how come I don't recall any of the land around me? I would've remembered...

Once I reached the edge of the pond, I dragged myself out onto the sandy bank, sighing deeply before collapsing onto my back. 

All of my energy I had stored left me after something so easy. I wondered how I became this weak. I glanced at the tree beside me, watching it's aura shimmer in the daylight. It was a beautiful sight. The purple played tricks on my eyes, transforming from it's lavender hue to a dark red, and mixing into a deep blue that mimicked the color of the sea.

Something about it calmed me. Seeing the familiar turquoise brought me close to tears as I turn my head back to face the sky. I didn't know why it had that affect on me but it must've meant something, right?

My eyes began to feel heavy again.

Moments after my triumphant escape from the depths of the pool, I spiraled back into the world of darkness; a world that I was all too accustomed with.


	2. 2

The boy was unconscious, the water trickling on his feet as he lost himself to the echo in his head. Nothing dared to stir around him, as his unfamiliar scent wafted through the branches.

Fairies watched from a distance; the boy’s hair flowing in the soft breeze, sending shivers down Bin’s spine.

“What should we do?” Bin’s friend Hart asked, twiddling her thumbs. The two were sat up in a fayora tree, hidden among the blossoming fruit.

“What do you mean what should we do? We need to wait for the elf.” Bin replied in a somewhat frustrated tone.

They’ve been told several times to keep away from them whenever they appear, and they’ve done so every time. This was the fourth one Bin’s experienced herself. Though she knew she couldn’t mess with the creature, curiosity still ate at her stomach.

“Come on, we can’t just leave him there. This is the first time someone’s showed signs of struggle like this.” Hart whined, her wings behind her flapping in agitation. Both of them were known as the fairies to get in trouble; to never stick to the rules and to do things even though they’re practically taught from birth never to defy their lead Fairy.

“I know, but we can’t afford to get in trouble again. It was only a few days ago that I got chewed out by Elema. He’s frightening.”

“But he needs us! They normally get further than this by this time. He’s just passed out on the bank. Can’t we give him a little push?” Hart asked in a somewhat desperate tone.

Her name was what reflected her; she had a big heart. Not many fairies are names such a thing, but her heart was too large for anyone to say otherwise.

Not only was she like this, but she was also stubborn. Bin sometimes ended up in trouble because Hart did something completely idiotic.

But this was insane. This meant going against one of the founding rules of her home, and Bin knew that they wouldn’t be as lenient as they’ve been the past few decades.

She had a fair point, though. Rarely do they ever end up stranded and unconscious after something so mild. Something must be very different about him.

After debating with her self conscious for a few moments, Bin sighed.

“I hope you realize that we might even be exiled for this.” Bin informed her more than eager friend, who was already ready to take off.

“Why? We were just doing our job!” Hart exclaimed. Their job was to find forest fluctuations; something that’s often worrying and can be repaired by their magic.

“No, this is quite different!” Bin argued, but Hart had already disappeared from her sight.

Bin muttered under her breath and stood by on the branch, knowing that she would regret this.

Both of them would.

She couldn’t leave Hart alone. Who knows what that human will do to her when he wakes up?

Bin ruffled her own hair in frustration as she paced once more before following her rebellious friend to the passed out boy.

Hart was being extremely cautious when Bin caught up with her, hiding in the brush beside him, unsure of his condition and if he was just faking.

“You actually came.” Hart said, her voice sounding shaky.

“I can’t leave you here with someone like him when they’re unpredictable. And if we’re both exiled, you need a friend to talk to endlessly, won’t you?” Bin replied with a small smile.

She tried to mask her fear as well as she could, but they were both terrified, their wings trembling on their backs as they hovered above the motionless body.

“So, what do you want to do exactly to help him?”

“Can you touch him to see what we’re dealing with?”

Bin’s powers seem to come in handy in this situation, but she was more reluctant to use them now more than ever.

“Why do I have to make the first move? This was your idea.”

“Yeah but I can’t look into someone’s mind like you can! You could force him to wake up, can’t you?”

“Oh that sounds like a lovely idea! Let me just wake up a newly born human that has no idea we exist and has the strength to kill us!”

“Well, what do you want me to do? Heal him?”

“Wait- were you expecting me to come with you and do this the whole time?! This was your idea?”

“Yeah! I’m stupid but not that stupid! What can I do by myself beside heal things?”

She had a point, but unless she forced her, she wouldn’t wake the guy up. Not while they’re in such a dangerous situation.

“I don’t want to do this anymore, Hart. It’s too dangerous for us.”

“We can’t just leave him here! The elf won’t find him at this rate. Can’t we just heal him enough so that he can walk and leave it at that?”

“There’s a chance he’ll wake up as soon as you do. That isn’t great for us.”

Bin was floating closer to the boy than Hart was, but now Hart was trying to push past her, desperate to help the fallen human.

“This isn’t our job! We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“If we don’t do anything, he’ll die! If the elf lady can’t find him, then he’s stuck here!” Hart shouted, nearly shoving Bin into the boy herself.

Bin resisted, pushing her friend back away from her.

“Look, I get it. I do. But he’ll find his way, just like the last three did.”

“How do you know that for sure?”

Bin blinked. “I don’t. But have a little faith.”

Hart was near tears at this point in the argument, and Bin could tell that Hart would do something dumb if she didn’t let her have her way.

Bin sighed deeply. “We’ll help him, okay? But we’re not getting any closer to him. That would just be dumb. We’ll lead him to the meeting point. Is that enough for you to be happy?”

Hart was sniffling, but she nodded. “Fine.”

The two of them began flying back in the cover of the branches, when they hear a sound finally erupt from the boy.

He groaned loudly, grasping his head with his hands. His dyed hair was strange, unlike something Bin had seen on another human. It was black with stripes of red tangled within it. Strange combination, but it worked.

He sat up slowly, glancing at the forest around him with a small feeling of panic.

Panic. This was all Bin sensed from the boy. Panic and confusion. It was overwhelming. She’d never felt this much before.

“Hello?”

The boy called out, his hoarse voice startling Hart.

Bin narrowed her eyes. Something was weird about him, definitely. But she can’t question the God’s decision to bring him here.

“I... I can sense someone.” He said aloud, looking around frantically. His eyes were wide with fear; he was so uncertain about everything. “Where are you?”

Before Hart could peel herself out from behind the thick trunk of the rainbow tree, Bin decided to reveal herself. She couldn’t stay hidden anymore. The sound of his voice alone made her feel awful for not offering her full abilities to help.

His eyes grew wide as his eyes landed on Bin. “W-What are you?”

“Well that’s not nice for someone to ask from the get go. Say hi at least.” Bin wanted to slap herself. Why would she say something so idiotic at such a sensitive time? Was it because she was beyond scared?

“Oh. Um.” He stared at the ground, unsure how to reply to her. He nervously scratched his neck and glanced back up at Bin. “Hi.”

“Hi there.” She said in the bravest voice she could muster. Cheery and kind, masking her fearful feeling.

Hart peeped out from the bark, watching the two as they spoke carefully among each other.

“So uh.. What are you?”

“I’m a fairy. Have you never seen one before?”

He looked down at his hands, which were trembling in front of him. He placed them on his head once again. “I... I’m not sure.”

“Listen, human. Do you have a name?”

“I don’t know. Do you know if I have one?”

Bin was surprised. Normally when she overheard humans speak to the elf, they always knew their name.

“No, that’s why I asked.”

“I... I don’t know what to tell you, then.”

Hart came beside Bin now, a worrying look placed on her face.

“Bin...”

Bin knew what she was gonna say. Pressed for time, she sighed, and took a deep breath.

“Boy. We’re going to help you, but you need to be compliant with us. We’ll do everything in our power to assist you so you get to the elf.”

“Elf?” He asked.

“I’ll explain it to you on the way. For right now, my friend is gonna heal you. If you try to hurt her, I’m able to destroy you here and now. You hear?” Bin growled.

He gulped. “Okay.”

Bin turned to Hart. “Be quick.”

Hart squealed with joy as she darted close to the boy, giving him soft assurance that he’ll be fine before she pressed her small hands onto his bicep.

Her bright pink aura radiated through her palms as she concentrated, leaving the boy in bewilderment, seeming like he’s never seen magic before.

Moments later, she stepped away.

“Do you feel better?”

He took a minute to respond. “I... yeah.”

“Try and stand.”

He obeyed, digging his hand into the sand to use as a way to stable himself before jumping onto his feet.

Bin and Hart promptly looked away from him, noticing now that he’s completely

naked and has no way of covering himself.

Hart’s cheeks grew super red, while Bin’s ears turned pink.

“Now that you can stand, do you think you can manage walking?”

“Yeah.” He said, walking a few feet before smiling giddy like a toddler, his eyes turning into little slits.

Though Bin’s only spoken to the boy for a few minutes, she was relieved to see him up and smiling. It was a weird feeling, but she didn’t have time to figure out what they meant.

“Alright. Then follow us, we’ll help you to the meeting point.”

“Okay!”

He seemed very trusting of two fairies already, which was concerning. They were taught to be very manipulative from birth, and could possibly get any elf to do what they pleased. The same went for humans, but Bin and Hart only desired to help, never to use anything for themselves.

“I forgot to introduce myself to you. I’m Bin, and that’s Hart.”

“Thank you for helping me.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh, and I found out something.”

Bin spun around. “You did?”

He held up his arm, his hand balled up into a fist, brandishing a fairly recent brand that didn’t look like it was there before. “My name. It’s Xenon.”

“Xenon. Nice to meet you, Xenon.”


	3. 3

> “Hello?”

Though he was in and out of consciousness for the last few minutes, every time he could hear shrill voices of something around him. They’d sound angry. Then sad.

Ultimately he couldn’t necessarily understand them. Their voices were too high pitched for him to make out anything, and on top of that, he’s not sure if they even speak his language.

His curiosity grew over time the longer he stayed still. Of course, it helped that he could barely feel his limbs now. Everything was numb.

When he decided to finally move from his position, he struggled greatly. There was no way he was going to be able to walk like this. The small noises had disappeared, and everything appeared to be frozen in time.

After some time of pushing himself up and having his arms collapse below him, he sighed deeply and gave up.

Under his palms, he could feel some strong sort of sensation flowing through him. It was almost like ice had invaded his bloodstream. The cold reached his chest in seconds. Instantly he felt a small amount of energy restore inside himself, giving him not only just enough to help himself into a seated position, but enough to identify that there was something hiding from him.

A strong scent filled his nostrils unlike anything he’s ever smelled. He couldn’t pinpoint it to anything, as it was something quite unique. But it was an identifier.

It was the distinct smell of an aura. Of what, he didn’t know. but now the clouds had a smell.

He ran his hands through his hair, unable to believe what was going on anymore. How was this happening? What was he doing to gain this power?

Nothing made any sense!

“I... I can sense someone.”

The boy peeled his hands away from his scalp and stared at them, his hands shaking as held them up in front of his eyes.

What was wrong with him? What was this forest doing to him? This had never happened before... had it?

He stopped looking at them after the few moments of thought, continuing what he was going to say. “Where are you?”

No response. The breeze swiftly blew through the leaves with purpose, streaming through the boy’s black hair, ruffling it slightly.

He kept craning his neck in hopes of seeing something, but he couldn’t see anything.

Suddenly, he spotted a faint glow in the corner of his eye. It was a pale green, an aura that he hadn’t seen so far while stuck in this forest.

He flicked his attention to it, only he couldn’t believe his eyes.

What was that? It was floating! Was that a fairy? An actual fairy?

Am I imagining things? Have I gone mad?

“W-What are you?” He stammered, unable to create any other coherent sentences in his head.

The small creature, instead of reacting shocked in any way, crossed her arms. “Well that’s not nice for someone to ask from the get go. Say hi at least.”

Her voice was deeper now. It sounded somewhat similar the voices he heard earlier that he thought he had made up.

“Oh um...” Out of everything she could’ve said, she chose to say something like that. He wasn’t sure what else to do other than to obey. “Hi.”

“Hi there.” She replied, still looking unsatisfied with the sight of the boy.

The boy wanted to hide. He was terrified. No one prepared him to encounter magical creatures. Nothing did. He was alone, how could anyone else prepare him? He was utterly alone with no help.

He felt the need to confirm his crazy thought. “So uh... what are you?” As soon as those words came out of his mouth, he wanted to curl up in a ball. His voice cracked tragically while speaking, clearly showing the creature that he was panicking.

“I’m a fairy. Have you not seen one before?”

His hands were trembling in front of him. The boy hid them behind his back. “I... I’m not sure.”

“Listen, human. Do you have a name?” She sounded irritated.

“I don’t know. Do you know if I have one?” He asked.

She blinked. “No, that’s why I asked.”

“I... I don’t know what to tell you, then.”

Just then, another appeared. Another fairy. There were two of them. Oh no. Oh no. This was dangerous... He needed to get out of there.

“Bin...” the other whispered.

The one named Bin groaned loudly, squeezing her eyes shut out of frustration. Then, she glanced at him. “Boy. We’re going to help you, but you need to be compliant with us. We’ll do everything in our power to assist you so you get to the elf.”

What’s she talking about? “Elf?”

“I’ll explain it to you on the way. For right now, my friend is gonna heal you. If you try to hurt her, I’m able to destroy you here and now. You hear?” She said, shooting daggers at him.

He gulped. “Okay.”

Bin turned to the pink fairy. “Be quick.”

The pink fairy flew towards me fast, scaring him even more. He jumped backward, his eyes growing wide at the sight of the pink spot hurling herself at him.

“Honey, I’m just here to help. She wouldn’t let me help you but I managed to persuade her.”

Now that he was out of options, he shook his head in a last attempt to ward the fairy off.

“You’ll be fine. Just let me help you.”

What happened next was strange. Instantly, his muscles relaxed. He allowed her near him, but inside he was still screaming at her to get away. He lost all control of his body at once, and wasn’t able to regain it.

What in the hell was happening? Why can’t he move?

Though he was freaking out on the inside, his outside self was calm as she rested her palms on the upper part of his bicep.

Again, a cold feeling spread throughout his body. He was able to feel everything she was doing, even though he wasn’t sure what the fairy was up to. All he knew was that he wanted to run.

A smaller bubble of pink aura appeared around her hands, and she shut her eyes in order to concentrate.

There was nothing he could do. Was he going to die here?

He grimaced, not sure what to expect from her hands.

It was hard to notice when she stepped away from him, because the amount of magic that was poured into his veins was overwhelming.

“Do you feel better?” Pinkie asked.

He took a minute to respond. His emotions were flying through him like hormones during puberty. He didn’t know what to do. Somehow, all at once, he regained the feeling of his legs and arms, and somewhat gained control of his body again. “I... yeah.”

“Try and stand.”

He hesitated. Wasn’t this a little fast? He still couldn’t believe that he wasn’t dreaming. A small woman- no, a fairy. A small magical fairy... healed him? Healed him with nothing but magic?

Magic? He still couldn’t remember much, but in his gut he knew that this was not normal.

Maybe he was high on drugs. Maybe that was it. He couldn’t believe that that explanation was more believable than magic.

Slowly, he stomped his left foot in front of him, careful to focus on balance first before taking another step. Then, his right foot followed, and before he knew it, he was standing.

Both of the fairies promptly turned on their heels (in mid air) and cleared their throats.

“Now that you can stand, do you think you can manage walking?” Bin asked calmly.

“Yeah.” He said, walking a few feet before smiling giddy like a toddler. He was somewhat overjoyed at the whole healing process. Not only was it fast, but it worked, and he felt great.

It was euphoric. More than euphoric. It was bliss.

Even walking wouldn’t feel this good, but for whatever reason, he could care less. The pretty fairies were speaking to him; he had to listen.

I shall name you Xenon.

Suddenly, a burning sensation appeared on his right forearm. Though it was slight, it caught his attention. In the happy trance he was in, he didn’t concentrate on it much, but was able to read it out to himself.

Xenon. He wondered why he was named that. Why did he remember this just now? How did it appear on his arm?

“Alright. Then follow us, we’ll help you to the meeting point.”

“Okay!” He said, a little too enthusiastically.

“I forgot to introduce myself to you. I’m Bin, and that’s Hart.” The green fairy stated, bowing slightly to me before spinning around again quickly.

“Thank you for helping me.” I said.

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh, and I found out something.”

Bin spun around. “You did?”

He held up his arm, his hand balled up into a fist, brandishing his new brand that just appeared. “My name. It’s Xenon.”

“Xenon. Nice to meet you, Xenon.”

~~

An hour into their forest guide job, Bin began to be suspicious of Xenon. Something was off about him. Extremely. When he was balled up on the bank, he was panicking. That’s all that was running through him. Pure panic.

Bin sensed a resistance to Hart’s hands, but after a few moments, it ceased to exist. Now he was confidently striding through the forest following two fairies to what could be his doom.

Hart did something. There was no other way to explain it.

“Did you charm him?” Bin suddenly asked Hart as they turned the corner onto a new gravel path.

“What?”

“Hart, did you charm him? There’s no way he would be like this if two strange things flew up to him asking for help.” Bin said.

Hart sighed. “I had to.”

Bin blinked, but had no words to say to her best friend.

“You have to understand, I had to. You could sense the panic inside of him, right? He wouldn’t let me touch him.”

“And he has a right to act that way! We weren’t supposed to interfere, yet you went ahead and went against what I said and not only healed him, but you charmed him too!” Bin snapped.

“Look! He wouldn’t have come with us so willingly. He appeared to be very smart. I didn’t want to risk healing him only for him to run away and get hurt by any other creatures in this forest.” Hart said.

She had a valid point.

Bin had to gather her thoughts before she replied. “You’re going to take off the charm once we get to the meeting place, right?”

Hart nodded. “I never wanted to do this to something, but I had to use it. I’ll make sure he’s out of it when we arrive.”

“Hey! What’s this?”

Behind them, Xenon was stopped by a flower. It was steaming with a silver steam, which caused him to stare in awe at it.

This was the third time they had to pull him away before something hurt him. This time the threat was poison.

Both of them sighed once Xenon began walking again down the path like normal.

“You know, if you wanted to put him under a charm, you could’ve used anything else. Why did you choose the love charm?”

Hart shrugged. “It works the fastest.”

Bin shook her head. “You’re dumb. It also makes anyone act like loony drunks.”

“I’m aware, but we’re short on time. I couldn’t wait fifteen minutes for someone to fall under a control charm.” Hart replied.

“God, I hate how you think sometimes.”

“But hey, we got this far with him, didn’t we?”

Hart spun around to make sure Xenon wasn’t straying from her sight. The charm works instantly, making the being who cast it become the target’s crush. It could be handy at times when dealing with other fairies. As long as she was in his line of sight, he would follow her to the depths of the ocean for a kiss.

“Y’know,” She called out over her shoulder to Bin. “He’s really cute.”

Bin rolled her eyes. “You shouldn’t be saying that. He’s not one of us.”

“But I can acknowledge when someone’s attractive, can’t I?”

Bin decided to stop talking and focus on how to get to their destination. She’s seen it several times, and has followed a human while disguised as a bug to it, so she knew the general location of it. However, the forest shifted every once in a while. tree roots unfurl and curl over different areas, and plants die and sprout in different areas within the matter of a few seconds.

It was like the ever changing sand dunes out in the west of the kingdom, but only a little more green.

It took them two more hours to navigate their way through the magical labyrinth that was their home before arriving at the mossy stone tablet. It was surrounded by ancient trees, ones that are too large to shift anymore. Since it was a very unique area, she was able to fly up beyond the top of the trees to spot the hole in the canopy.

“We’re here.” Bin said aloud, causing Hart and Xenon to stop in their tracks.

“Whoa... this is so cool.” Xenon said with a large grin on his face.

“I say we leave him here. If you can remove the charm, I’ll be able to make him pass out for a few hours.” She told Hart, who, though reluctant, obeyed her.

“Xenon, honey. I have to leave you here.”

A gust of wind blew past Bin, causing chills to go down her spine. They didn’t have much time. If the lady finds them, she won’t be too kind towards them. Xenon is precious cargo, and for a fairy to manipulate him in the way they did... she’d fry them.

With a snap of her fingers, Xenon collapsed on the rock with a small thud. He was knocked out cold, so Bin didn’t need to use her powers anymore.

“Hart, we have to go. She’ll be here any minute.”

“I don’t want to leave him. Who knows what she’ll do to him.”

“He’ll be fine. She’ll definitely kill us if she sees us, so we have no choice.”

Bin began to fly back in the cover of the ancient blossom tree, but when she looked behind her, Hart was still hovering over Xenon’s toppled over body, watching him intently.

“Hart. Now.”

Hart sighed, said a sad goodbye to the boy, and floated over to Bin glumly.

She knew Hart truly didn’t want to leave him, because at this point he was like a puppy we claimed while on a stroll through the woods.

Bin had to admit that she automatically liked him as well, but she needed to be the smart one in this situation. Hart was reckless, and Bin needed to address that when they got home to receive a punishment.

There wasn’t a way in Fayora that they were going to be let back into their village. Someone ought to have seen them.

Right now, they already had too much to deal with, so it was best for them to flee the scene and let that woman do the rest.

“I’m sorry Hart. I am. But we need to head back home. We don’t know what awaits us there, and that alone is enough to worry about.”

Hart sniffled. “You’re right.” She took one last glance at Xenon before turning her head away. “We should go.”

Bin didn’t wait for her to finish, because they were darting through the trees as fast as their wings would let them.


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i still have some issues with italics (i’ll fix those when i can)
> 
> hope you enjoy :)

Xenon awoke in the back of a carriage. Rolling over a boulder caused his body to jump, hitting his head on the edge of the wooden compartment.

He grimaced, pressing down on the back of his neck with a hand, trying to not only fight off the pain but also fight off this grogginess.

Think, Xenon... Think... how did you end up here?

All he remembered were those fairies. The ones that helped him. However, he didn’t remember ever moving from his location; everything was a blur from that moment until now.

Great, more memories to dig up. Just what I need.

He felt around himself. A soft blanket was laid underneath him, and somehow, he had been dressed up.

What the hell?

He lifted up his head to see if he could spot the driver, but had no luck. Sighing deeply, he rested his head back on the blanket, unsure of what to do in this situation.

At least he could feel everything now, and move as freely as he chose to, but he still had no idea what was going on here. His mind was completely empty; there were no hints about what to do, or what to say, or how to even get out of here.

What could he possibly do? He has seen magic firsthand. If magic was something they do here, then he was without any defense. As far as he knew, he couldn’t perform anything.

Here he was, being dragged by a carriage to another unfamiliar place without any clue how to get himself out. There was no way to tell if this was a good thing that he was here or not, but he didn’t want to wait.

But his head was pounding. It wasn’t something he was used to; it just felt like he had smashed his head into a large boulder. There were no rocks nearby the pool, so he had no idea how that could happen.

Maybe the fairies had something to do with it. Everything was possible at this rate.

~

A few moments later, the carriage began to slow down.

Xenon finally sat up, watching out the gap in the curtain in front of him. This area was unknown to him. They were no longer in a forest; they were in the fields where cattle and sheep roamed.

With his luck, he hoped that this didn’t end with disaster as well. All he wanted was some rest.

His stomach growled loudly.

Okay, maybe he wanted something to eat, too.

The wheels gradually stopped after a few seconds, and the silence of the ride was interrupted by a horse neighing.

“Ah, I bet you two are hungry.”

Xenon hadn’t heard her voice before. It was someone new. He prayed that it wasn’t someone as crazy as those damn fairies. Someone who doesn’t look like they’re about to do some hocus pocus shit on him.

“I’ll feed you once we get the human out and inside. Deal?” She said, clapping her hand on the horse’s neck and giggling softly.

Footsteps. She was rounding the carriage now.

Xenon. This is your last chance. You have no idea how this is going to go. Do you want to wait to see it go sour? Or get the hell out of here?

He pushed that thought into the back of his mind. No, he was gonna stand his ground if he needed to. He wasn’t someone who was always this scared.

His heart pounded in his chest as he heard the woman untie the curtains in the middle, her hands weaving through the thick knot like butter.

Just by looking at her hands, he could tell that she was older. Wrinkly hands, dry skin... It reminded him of someone he used to know.

Who that was, though, was a mystery.

Once the knot was undone, she peered inside, their eyes making contact almost immediately.

“Oh! You’re awake.”

He peeled his away from hers and glanced downward at his feet.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.”

That’s what the fairies said. Now all I have to thank them for is this migraine.

He wasn’t sure whether to believe her or not, but he had to give her the benefit of the doubt. She was older, and had taken him away from the forest to what looks like her home.

Of course, that doesn’t take away that possibility of her being a cannibal, but he’d like to think that’s not the case. He also dressed him and had put a bandage around the freshly branded mark on his arm. Whatever ointment she rubbed on it felt nice on his skin.

She pressed her lips together firmly before sighing. “My name is Nia.” She said, climbing up onto the back and holding her hand out to shake.

Xenon stared at her hand, watching it carefully, before extending his arm and accepting her friendly gesture.

“Xenon. That’s the name they gave you, huh?” She pointed to his wrapped up arm. “That’s a new one.” A smile sprouted onto her lips.

“They?” Xenon questioned.

Her small grin she had faded. “Right. Can you stand?”

Xenon nodded, but he wasn’t going to be as trusting as he was before. Why should he be? Just because somebody is kind doesn’t mean they’ll be good to you.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “How can I trust you?”

She looked taken aback. “I haven’t done enough with you to trust me just yet, but I can assure you that it would be wise to come with me.”

Xenon rubbed the back of his head with his hands nervously. “You’re not gonna cast something on me or anything, right?”

“Of course not. Why would I do that to a new born?”

Xenon was puzzled by the use of new born, but he scratched his neck. “I’m not sure if this was the case, but in the forest, I was healed by some fairies. I don’t remember what happened afterwards... everything’s blurry.”

Nia’s eyes grew wide. “They’re not supposed to meddle with humans.” She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the forest for a slight moment before turning to him once more. “I’m not one to harm a human. My family has been raising and taking care of new borns that have come into this land for millennia. I can promise you, I will not manipulate you like they do.”

Xenon somehow knew that she was being truthful. Her tone was calm and assuring.

Without replying to her, he crawled forward and hopped out of the back, steering clear of her grasp but close enough to feel her aura radiating around her. Xenon couldn’t physically see it, but the power was overwhelming.

“I will do my best to teach you about this world, as that is my duty. All I ask from you is to trust me. I don’t expect that trust now, but I hope you learn that I’m only here to assist you in your journey.” Nia explained. “With you I shall teach the next generation of my family, my grandson. He has never met a human, so please be patient with him.”

Xenon didn’t know how to reply. This was the most comforting thing he hd heard since he landed himself here, yet he thought it was too good to be true. He wanted to believe it, but he couldn’t be too sure about everything yet.

“How much do you remember about being remade?” She suddenly asked him, causing him to jump in his newly put on shoes.

“Uh... I don’t remember anything.”

She frowned slightly. “Nothing?”

“I don’t remember anything at all. I didn’t know my name or what happened to me... nothing at all.”

“Hmm. Strange. Normally every human remembers what The Being says to them before they wake up in the pool. When did you remember your name?”

“When the fairy healed me. That’s when I got the brand.”

“You didn’t get it right away?”

Xenon shook his head. “I couldn’t feel my limbs in the pool either, but I managed to swim out of it before passing out.”

Nia hummed. “Very odd.”

“So that isn’t normal?”

“No, usually the human who arrives is able to remember specific details of their creation and be able to meet me at the Henge.” She said. “You must be one of those rather special ones. They must like you.”

Both of them stood in silence for a brief couple of minutes before she cleared her throat.

“Come with me, I’ll lead you to your room.” Nia began walking towards the cute farmhouse that appeared nearly empty. Purple curtains covered the old windows, and the outside was decorated with gnomes and little pinwheels which were twirling in the wind.

Xenon thought that it fit the magical setting; whimsical but ancient. Though he wasn’t sure if he liked it too much.

He followed her from a distance, feeling very wary about her abilities. She could likely kill him in one strike; he was not about to die from disobeying her orders.

Like a scared puppy with their tail in between their legs, Xenon tiptoed into the house that Nia had disappeared into. Nia’s sandles clapped against the wooden floors, but he still had no clue where she went.

“How long will I be here?”

“It depends on how long it takes for us to unlock your talent. Sometimes it takes a matter of weeks, and sometimes it takes a matter of months.” Nia replied, her soft voice echoing through the home.

Dodging antique furniture, he finally entered what seemed to be the kitchen where Nia was, preparing food. Her back was facing him as she chopped up vegetables expertly on a cutting board.

“Just out of curiosity, have you unlocked anything of your abilities yet? Anything peculiar that you didn’t know you could do but can use now?”

Xenon tapped his chin. “Not really, unless you count being able to identify people by smell and being able to sense/see auras.”

Nia paused her chopping. “Really? You can already do all of that?”

“I could do it before I knew my name, actually.” Xenon told her.

Behind him, Xenon could hear tiny feet slap the oak floors. They were beginning to get closer.

“Kyero, won’t you say hi?” Nia suddenly said, slicing into a large radish.

Xenon looked over his shoulder.

It was a young boy with messy blue hair companied by the classic pointy elf ears. One was pierced, his left one, and he was wearing decent enough clothing to look like he was going somewhere.

Xenon smirked. “I’m Xenon, nice to meet you.”

Kyero froze. “Um... hello, Xenon.”

“As I was saying, your abilities must have activated extremely fast for you to be able to do those things. Those usually develop within the first three days of arriving.” Nia slid the diced vegetables into a pot above a fire powered by her magic. It was a intense blaze, the flames flickering from a blue to a lavender as it boiled the stew gently.

“Everything so far that I’ve told you has been different, hasn’t it?”

“Quite.”

They stopped talking while Nia focused on completing the dish. Xenon just watched from the other side of the room, leaning back on a free wall. His arms were crossed, and he intently gazed at the pot as it bubbled.

In the corner of his eye, he spotted Kyero slinking into the room, sitting down at the small handcrafted table not far from the both of them.

The human glanced at the young elf, seeing him scribble down a few notes within a leather bound journal before closing it and beginning to set up the table for the meal.

“Kyero, you’re welcome to ask anything to the human once we sit to eat.” Nia said.

Xenon wasn’t against being questioned about anything, but he hoped he had answers to whatever he asked. If he didn’t, he would feel bad.

“Okay, grandmother.” Kyero’s voice wavered slightly. His eyes darted to Xenon, who only returned the favor a few moments later, causing the elf to look away.

“What are you making, Nia?” The guest asked.

“Vegetable and chicken stew. One of my best dishes. Isn’t that right, grandson?”

He nodded. “She’s a very good cook.”

It wasn’t too much longer before the three of them slipped into their seats at the table, the boys across from each other while the grandmother sat at the head.

Xenon’s stomach was howling now, begging for some sustenance. His mouth watered as the food was set in front of him, and he wanted to dig in immediately. However, he had manners.

Nia waited for both of the boys to receive their food before grabbing her share and resting in her chair.

“May you both eat well.” Nia said aloud, before clinking her silver spoon on her glass, granting them permission to eat.

Xenon scooped as much broth and vegetables as he could into a spoon, and graciously blew on it as to not get burned before taking his first bite.

Xenon hummed loudly in delight. “This is delicious.”

Nia giggled. “Oh stop it.”

“It’s better this time around than it was last time.” Kyero said in between sips of the stew.

“I might’ve added something extra for our guest.”

All three of them ate peacefully for a long time, and Xenon was almost entirely done with his second bowl before Kyero decided to ask a question.

He took a long gulp of his water before swallowing hard. “May I ask a question now?”

Nia nodded. “Of course.”

“How do we know you won’t fail like the others did?”


	5. 5

_When the memories that kept my side of me_

_Collapsed one by one_

_I thought everything around me_

_Was going to disappear_

_My Way- ATEEZ_

Chap. 5

Xenon nearly choked on his piece of radish. _The others failed? Failed what?_

“We won’t know if he’s able to succeed until I’m able to work with him. We’ll be able to see his potential first hand and from then figure out whether or not he’ll be able to do it alone.”

“So The Being sent him here even though he may not be able to help us?”

“No. The Being always has a good reason to send a human here. They’re never useless. The last one developed a useful way to plant crops without having to use the tainted fields.”

“But none of them have ever been able to help us eliminate the government.” Kyero said, the amount of anger in his voice rising with every word.

“That’s because they were focused on making our lives easier with different methods of certain things. Whatever they began to remember from their humanity and how they lived.. they’ll help us when it gets to that time.”

Listening to both of them speak back and forth, Xenon was still having a hard time believing that everyone failed at the main mission he was going to be given. Of course, he didn’t know half of what was going on with the government, really. He wasn’t even sure if he would be able to perform magic.

Kyero and Nia were discussing things for a while, and after Xenon finished his mean, he started to feel drowsy.

“Um... I’m sorry to break into this conversation, but do I have a room?” Xenon asked.

Nia and Kyero eyed him briefly.

“Of course you do. I’ll take you there.” Nia said, pushing away from the table and standing. “We’ll finish talking in a little bit, Kyero. Grab seconds if you want them.”

All he did was nod, but Xenon wasn’t sure if he’d follow through with what she just said.

Once we climbed the stairs and reached the second floor, she apologized.

“I’m sorry for him. Ever since his mom passed away, he’s been quite a pessimist. I promise he’s usually very happy.”

“It’s okay, honestly. But I do have questions myself for you.” He stated.

Nia opened the door that was the furthest into the corridor, and revealed a pretty spacious, spotless room. “Very well. After that conversation, I was expecting some. However, I suggest you get some rest before we continue.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll leave you to it. There are some clothes traditional to us in the closet there. They were used with the other humans we’ve had here, so excuse the patchwork I might’ve done to anything. We’re not in the position to be buying more clothes.” Nia said sheepishly, before beginning to close the door behind Xenon. “Good night.”

“Goodnight!” Xenon chimed, and the door shut. He listened to her steps as she moved further away, and eventually could hear her shoes clack on the stairs. Then, it was silent.

Xenon, now feeling fine to finally break his act he was putting up, sighed deeply. He was trembling. Ever since he woke up in her carriage, he was frightened to what could follow.

Luckily nothing happened, but he was still not sure about this place. There was nothing keeping here, besides food and a persistent guide. He wanted to try to escape, but something told him that that wouldn’t be a good idea.

Maybe if he slept off his nerves; maybe he’ll be willing to work with Nia and her grandson. After all, he really had nothing to lose. There was a reason he was here; he had a hard time believing that whatever placed him here would accept him going out of this world too early.

Carefully, he undressed under the light of the moon flooding in through one lone window. Striding around in his under garments, he walked to the chest in front of his bed and pulled it open.

There were many outfits folded neatly in the drawers, ranging from every color to size. There wasn’t a distinct line dividing the clothes from sizes, so he had to gently take out clothes, making sure not to rip the worn fabric.

He finally settled on wearing a breathable white gown he found lying around in one of the nearly empty drawers, and slipped it on.

He then flopped into bed, the bed frame squeaking loudly underneath him.

He closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands, attempting to drown his high amount of anxiety with a little nap at least.

Xenon laid uncovered on the bed preoccupied for hours. In the darkness of the room, his eyes stared at his arm, which he waved in front of his face. He softly ran his fingers over the bandage wrapped in place, wincing slightly at the touch.

Xenon. That was what The Being named him. The supposed Being that created this world. Why?

Why was he here, truly? It was hard for him to feel brave when he was surrounded by a world filled with unknowns. Yet his purpose was to destroy a corrupt government according to the elves.

How in the hell was he supposed to do that? Sure, he’d develop his powers for whatever time she says it takes, and she’ll aid in any way she can, but ultimately he’ll be on his own.

He couldn’t even stand being here alone with two people he could barely trust. It was quite terrifying for him, thinking of all the things they could do to him. With that in mind, how would he face elves, who have been around for centuries in a battle when he barely had enough bravery to eat dinner with an old elf and a child?

Nothing made any sense.

He was exhausted. He needed rest. His mind had other plans, but he had to shut everything out.

_Just five minutes. That’s all I ask for._ He told himself, knocking on the side of his head as if he was hitting a person.

His eyes fluttered shut, and like that, he was swept away into another world; his dreams.

~~

_“He’s the best person I know._”

_“We’re best friends!”_

_“I love him.”_

_A man popped into his mind. He spoke these words, over and over again, it echoing for an endless amount of time._

_They were alone in a city, underneath the city lights and the stars._

_“What do you think? Is this what you needed? To get away from everything for a few moments?” The man asked. His voice was slightly higher pitched than his own, but he couldn’t recognize it. The face was drowned in the shadows of the buildings, but his voice was still as clear as day._

_Both of them stood side by side, watching the waves slap the shore. The sound made his former self relax, his shoulders becoming less tense as the man grabbed his hand._

_“I know things get stressful. But you and I are best friends. You can tell me when it’s getting too much. I’ll help you.”_

_He glanced at the friend, his face riddled with darkness and nothing more. He felt a smile growing from ear to ear as he stared at him._

_Everything about that night seemed magical. The hand holding as they listened to the ocean... the smell of the salty sea water... their favorite things engraved in the sand beside them._

_The bridge that was far away in the distance was lit up, cars zooming by each other, desperate to make it home before midnight._

_Everything was perfect. Everything was fine._

_“Let’s go over there, I want to show you something.” He said, pointing to an area closer to the rocks._

_“Okay!” His friend laughed as he dragged him into a cloud of dense fog, hovering over the rushing water. The laugh was enough to make him sprout another goofy smile, the sheer sound of it slightly cheering him up for a moment. Soon, they were draped in it; they could barely see._

_He was the first one the climb on the rocks. They were coated with water, but he didn’t care. He seemed fairly determined to get his way up to the highest rock, which was further into the sea then the shore. Out there, the waves were raging on, the water slapping the rocks harshly with each go._

_“I don’t think it’s safe for us to be here!” His friend shouted, still down by the first rock._

_“It’ll be fine, Wooyoung. Just trust me!”_

_The dream Xenon was faced with warped, flushing away into the cosmos as Wooyoung’s face suddenly became apparent to him. The look he saw on the man’s face was of shear terror, but it was all washed away within a few seconds._

_All of the color had vanished from sight. Xenon was left alone in the pool again, unable to move, and he was slowly sinking into the murky water. He tried to regain control of himself, but nothing worked. Nothing was bending to his will. His limbs and body did not do as they were told. They just let him sink._

_Deeper and deeper he fell, with no ability to breathe. Xenon was desperate for some air. Something. Anything. He was going to drown._

_“You did horrible things, Xenon. Now is the time to redeem yourself.” Who was that?_

Xenon awoke to the sound of the old grandfather clock downstairs. It struck five.

Sweat was streaming down his temple, as he desperately clawed at his throat, gasping for air. He was choking, unable to throw himself out of the daze that was lured onto him in the dream. Xenon wasn’t drowning... He wasn’t drowning...

He coughed loudly, sitting up in his bed, waiting for the feeling to pass. Breathing heavily, he was able to snap out of it, grasping his gown and pulling it into his fist.

His mind wouldn’t stop asking questions. Over and over again, the same two questions circulated in his mind.

Who was Wooyoung? And what was he to him?


	6. 6

Xenon went through his day ignoring everything he had experienced in the early hours of the morning, drowning it in the depths of his thoughts so he could focus on something else.

After breakfast, Nia told him that she would introduce him to magic. As they had a limited time to teach him everything he needed to know, they needed to start right away with classes.

He went ahead and changed into something a little more fitting, rather than an ivory tunic and ripped pants he had found nearly at the bottom of the chest. He chose a white button up that fit him pretty nicely around his muscular arms, and around his waist. Then he picked a nice pair of black pants, and went with that, even though they were a little short on him.

He met Nia outside of her home, who was waiting patiently in the pen of her two horses.

The elf met eyes with Xenon, and a small grin spread on her face. “I see you’re getting comfortable.”

“Not exactly, but I wanted to be dressed somewhat nicely for this.” Xenon admitted.

“Fair enough. Even though those clothes might not last through this session.” Nia said the last part under her breath, but Xenon could hear it.

He decided against commenting on it.

“For these lessons, we’re gonna have to practice further into our pasture where no animals can be hurt. We’ll take Epona to the pasture right outside of where we’ll be and leave her there.” She told him, resting her hand on the horse’s forehead. Epona nudged Nia affectionately, shaking her blonde mane out to show off to Xenon.

“She’s a bit outgoing, I hope you can excuse her.” Nia laughed softly, patting her horse’s side before making sure everything on the saddle was adjusted as it should be.

“You get on first, Xenon. She’s very sweet, so you shouldn’t have any problems.” Nia said. 

Xenon hesitated. He hadn’t been on a horse before... had he?

Nia shook her head in disbelief, but graciously explained to him how to mount the horse, and in no time, he was latched onto her, somewhat scared to fall off as she ordered the horse to speed up from a trot to a canter.

“Ah! Wait! This is too fast! Slow down!” Xenon screeched, squeezing the elf tighter. 

She laughed loudly. “She can sprint as well, but don’t scream too loud. Sometimes she likes to test out the new riders.” 

Just then, Epona sped up to a sprint on the gravel pathway leading to their land, and Xenon pressed his eyes shut out of fear.

“Epona!” He screamed.

They reached their destination within a few minutes, Epona slowing down from her steady canter to a jog.

Xenon released the breath he was holding for who knew how long, as Nia just giggled again.

“Thay wasn’t that bad was it?” Nia asked, smiling at Xenon before hopping off the back of the mischevious horse.

Xenon melted off of the horse in pure fear of riling her up again, scrambling away from her as fast as he could.

They broke away from the mighty steed and stepped through the partially opened gate into an overgrown field.

“Now, we’ll need to do a few tests regarding your abilities. Since you seem to be ahead of most people at this time, I’ll ask you about them extensively.” Xenon and Nia crossed the field at a fairly quick pace, hoping to accomplish whatever they can before sundown.

They finally reached a point in the field that was different than the rest of the pasture. There was a large black spit that mimicked a circle in the middle of the wildflower and clover. The grass was seared, and burnt to a crisp.

Xenon could sense that it was done by magic, but it wasn’t done recently. How he knew that, he wasn’t sure.

“This is where we shall normally train. It’s out of the way of everything that could possibly get harmed.” Nia said, patting Xenon’s shoulder firmly. “As you can see, it’s a little-“

“Burned?”

“Our last human was a fire mage. It was only going to happen eventually.” She said, brushing it off. 

“Shouldn’t the grass have grown back by now, though? Normal fire wouldn’t scorch something this badly and never allow anything to blossom again.” Xenon’s curiosity level about the whole event was rising with every second that passed. He wondered what kind of training they went through.

“Yes, but he was granted with the power of eternal fire. Blue flames that never truly burn out, even when the flame is extinguished. This was purely a mistake, but I knew it would come in handy later on.” She pet the ground with her hand, feeling the black plants with a sense of pride. “He went on to become a great innovator in farming techniques; ones that can save us from the relentlessness of the government.”

What an interesting story. He was able to help the elves, but not in the way they had hoped. Eventually it lead to inventions and techniques that probably helped saved many elves from starvation, so he did assist them with their battle against their tyrannical leaders.

“Regarding what Kyero spoke about at the table last night about failing... well, a human had never truly failed us. They’ve always helped in one way or another, trying to make life easier for the poor and the sickly. But we have yet to receive with such magical power like yourself, and that excites me.” Nia’s grin was soft and kind, and her eyes were filled with flickers of hope. “You might finally be the one we need to put down the hierarchy.”

Saying that brought Xenon’s spirits up about the entire thing. Being sent here meant he did have some sort of use to the elves, whether it be in strength or in certain methods. 

But why was he sent? Out of everyone their god could’ve chosen, why him? After being told in his dream that he did horrible things, the decision to bring him back confused him beyond belief. Maybe this was his second chance? To help decide whether or not he’s worthy of something?

Nia told him about what they would be working on. They would first focus on the mind, since that was what enabled them to perform magic. She explained that that was where seeing auras and detecting them came in handy.

“How well do you see auras?”

Xenon was stumped. How was he supposed to answer that question?

“Well, I’m not sure if you’d consider this good, but I can see colored auras, and I do sense auras around me.”

“Good. You can sense my aura, correct?”

“It’s larger than anything else I’ve felt.”

“Very good. You also mentioned scent... what did you mean by that?”

“I’m not sure how to describe that exactly. It’s like I can identify creatures, even if I haven’t ever interacted with them before solely off of their scent. I can at least detect where they are position wise, and from there I can sense their aura from whatever distance I detect them from.”

“I see.” Nia pulled out a notebook she had handy in her inside coat pocket, and scribbled something down. 

Nia began questioning him extensively about the subject of auras and being able to smell creatures, but Xenon only had one experience with it. There wasn’t much he could answer.

“Right. So from what I got out of our discussion is that you might possibly have an ability to shapeshift.” She said aloud, biting on the end of her writing utensil.

Xenon blinked. “What?”

“It’s a possibility. Every human has a different type of magic. We’ve had many shapeshifters before, so it’s nothing extremely unusual, but nonetheless it is rare.”

“H-Have you come across others before?”

“Personally? Yes. But that was when I was younger. The human in question was able to shift into a condor.”

Xenon gasped. “A condor?” 

“Yes. It was quite amazing, watching her transform. Every human who is a shapeshifter morphs into a creature that is completely unique to them, so that means your animal, whatever it may be, we have never dealt with before.” Nia tapped her wooden ink pen across the pages of her notebook. “That will definitely be interesting to unlock with you. And with how far you are developed with magic within the day you’ve been here, it may happen earlier than even I can predict.”

Xenon was still unable to take in what she just said. He was able to shapeshift? What did that even mean? Was his magic the ability to manipulate himself into looking like an animal unlike any other?

“Normally shapeshifters are powerful, but your aura reading is much larger than our average one. That may mean that you, alongside shapeshifting, could be harnessing another type of magic.”

“What?!”

Nia glanced back up at Xenon, who’s hands were tangled in his hair in an attempt to reel himself back into reality. “I realize this can be slightly overwhelming. But know these first questions are vital for me so I can begin a training regimen for your specific kind of magic. Of course, your second kind will be unknown to me, as the shapeshifting magic overtakes the other, so we shall focus on one at a time.”

With every day he lived through, he just became more and more confused. Maybe that was his natural state? Was he always this confused?

Somehow, he felt like he was right about that.

Together, Nia walked him through just the basic things; the laws of magic. It was something every creature in their world lived by, which means he would have to function behind it as well.

While she was going through one at a time, Xenon raised his finger, afraid to interject.

“Yes?”

“Um... do you have anything I can write this in? I tend to remember things if I scribble them down somewhere.” How did he remember that one very specific detail about himself? He didn’t know and frankly he didn’t care. As it was his head was full of meaningless things, and he needed a way to let them out, even if it meant writing it down on a piece of paper.

Nia raised an eyebrow. “You are truly an odd one.” She laughed softly. “I’ll provide you with a notebook when we get back to the farmhouse so you can write things down.”

Xenon sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

She continued on, listing the least important laws to the most important, which was basically along the lines of: “Don’t murder.”

It seemed like a normal law that almost everyone had in place, so Xenon didn’t struggle with that one. However, trying to recall things about magic counsels and how to properly register for a magic license... that was his main worry.

At the very end of her lecture, she showed off a little bit of her magic to amuse the already horribly frustrated and agitated Xenon.

“I possess Snow magic, which means I can manipulate the temperature in a short radius around me and create snow. Not only can I do that, I can also use the snow that is created to craft weapons and use it for battle.” Nia waved her hand above her, letting Xenon watch as small gray clouds materialized above her head. Then, slowly, snow began to shake out of them, peppering the ground with the purest, whitest snow he’s ever seen.

It was truly... magical.

Xenon observed the magic in awe, letting the delicate snowflakes rest on his arms and hands. He felt giddy inside. Seeing this old elf perform such a beautiful kind of magic before his very eyes... it was amazing.

Nia’s small smile grew when she saw Xenon. He felt like a little kid again, playing in the snow with the goofiest look on his face. 

For once in the whole time he had been here; his mind was at peace. 

“Xenon, honey. We must start heading back.” Nia said, knocking Xenon out of his daze.

He blinked, and rubbed his eyes, trying to relieve the stinging he had in them. Did he blink at all during those few minutes?

“Mm. Okay.” He hummed, getting back onto his feet, realizing that snow had piled up all around his figure, and him leaving the ground left a silhouette of his criss cross sitting self.

The two of them walked side by side, becoming further and further away from the extremely charred circle in the grass that was now covered in a delicate powder of frozen rain. Xenon looked back every so often, seeing if he could spot the snow melting, but when he glanced back before they reached the gate to the pasture, everything was gone.

~~

Xenon managed to figure out their shower and scrubbed vigorously, still feeling like he was caked in dirt. Though he was not, he was determined to stay clean and appear clean to his gracious hosts.

He slipped into a fresh gown, since the one from the night before was covered in his filth from the pool, and slumped into his bed, exhausted after a day of being constantly overwhelmed. It was tiring; being loaded with information that doesn’t even compute in his mind.

Nia had gave him an empty leather bound journal, just like the one her grandson had, only it was a striking shade of red. He didn’t mind, because all he would be doing was writing inside of it.

Without really thinking, instead of writing the rules he’d promised he’d take notes on, he began to scribble down whatever was on his mind at the time. All of the questions he had unanswered; all of the things he wondered about; and all of the things he experienced in his dream last night. Everything. He wrote it down and provided pretty vivid details, including how he felt at the time when he was finding everything out again.

Inside of him, he hoped that documenting it could possibly help him in the long run puzzle things together, but it would be a long while before he could do it. He needed more information.

He needed to figure out what happened.


	7. 7

A week went by before anything interesting happened with Xenon. He had been practicing well with Nia, though he felt like the lessons were useless. She had him trying to focus on mana reading and mainly on the written laws until he showed any signs of being able to practice magic.

Nothing had popped up. Despite everything she believed about him gaining magic faster than others... it didn’t mean anything.

Nia spoke as if she had so much knowledge about the topic, but Xenon wasn’t feeling convinced. She told him that he was powerful and magic should be coming to him within days... it’s been a week. Could she possibly be lying? Or could she be covering up the fact that he may not possess any magic?

He wasn’t sure. He really didn’t want to think about that right now.

But for some reason, that’s  all  he could think about. This, and the mysterious Wooyoung character. How does it connect?

There must be something, right? Maybe the gods of this world put him here without the ability to harm anyone because of his past. But even then, he wasn’t sure if he truly hurt anyone, or if he was just an evil person. 

He had been scribbling down everything he had been theorizing in his red notebook, hoping that he would be able to piece something together. But he was stuck. He was stuck in a pit of tar that was his serious case of amnesia. 

Were his memories something he needed to be concerned about? Couldn’t he just focus on the life he was supposed to live here? 

The answer was yes. Yes he could.

The fact that they were throwing hints at him about his past life was the only reason he wasn’t fully committed into facing whatever was to come. It was eating away at him.

The life was treating him pretty well now, since he finally settled. Kyero turned out to be a very kind and goofy kid, almost the same as Xenon without the schtick he was putting up. They bonded really well over pretty much anything he had to bring to the table, especially music.

Music wasn’t something common in their world, as Kyero had pointed out to him. It was something that was brought into their family thanks to the humans, and was being taught from generation to generation. He brings his mandalin everywhere he goes strapped to his back, and whenever he has free time with Xenon, he’ll just play a random melody. Xenon would usually hum along, and the joke they had among themselves was that maybe Xenon was a singer in his past life.

He found that extremely hard to believe, but with his amnesia, anything was possible.

Nia and him bonded over magic, basically. Nia would tell him stories of different magic she’s encountered throughout her life, whether it be based on extremely difficult dark magic or something as harmless as being able to cook really well. Xenon constantly complimented her cooking skills, and he swears that she might possess that kind of magic as well as her snow abilities.

Kyero had magic as well. As it was still developing, it wasn’t very strong. He possessed a type of air magic, similar to the one his mother had. Usually, elves get the magic their parents had, so it was a 50/50 chance they would get one or the other.

The eighth day was like every other day.

Xenon woke up, having the same dream from the first night replaying in his head. It was never different. Every time, he’d climb the rocks, and Wooyoung would coax him down. He would refuse, and convince him that it was okay. And then the dream would end.

He would wake himself up, and scribble down if there were any new details added in, but the answer was usually no. 

Then he would get dressed into something somewhat too formal for the casual elves, but he always wanted to look presentable in front of his hosts. He wanted to prove he was doing fine under their care, so they didn’t have any second thoughts.

Together, the three would eat breakfast, and he would hang out with Kyero until Nia was prepared for their journey to the scorched pasture. They would grab Nia’s trusty steed Epona, and set off into the wilderness.

They would reach the spot within 30 minutes of leaving, and the lessons would begin without any hesitation.

“Do you feel any different today?”

Xenon shook his head. “I don’t know what to tell you, Nia.”

Nia brushed over her chin with her pointer finger and thumb. “Perhaps we could try something different today. But I must explain how it might go first.”

Xenon looked at her wide eyed, slightly intrigued by her words. “Go on.”

Nia grinned, but it faded quickly. “I might be able to jump you into your shifted form. It’s a bit risky, as transforming can be quite uncomfortable the first time around. But it’s worth a try.”

Xenon frowned. “Why didn’t you try that a few days ago?”

“I wanted to make sure you aura didn’t fluctuate. You should be able to withstand something like this without any issue. Whether it works or not is up to your development and your mind.”

“Development? But I’m done growing.”

Nia giggled. “Not in that sense, Xenon. I meant in the sense of magic. Everyone develops in two ways here; physically, and magically. Perhaps you are finished growing physically but given the age you were thrown in here, your magic might be taking a longer time to manifest itself, as it didn’t have time to grow properly.”

That made sense.

“The one thing I must warn you about... Your mind can become clouded when you’re in your transformed state. Everything may become altered, and you may become hostile. That’s the only downside to it.”

“Have there ever been shapeshifters who have had harmless forms? Like a bunny or something?”

Nia nodded. “We have records of something like that, yes. But that happens on very rare occasions. Normally, it’s an animal that can harm an elf pretty easily. Lions, predatory birds... things like that.”

“So predatory animals. Ones that can protect themselves.”

“Correct.”

Xenon bit his lip. “But what about you? In this situation... you could be hurt or even killed, couldn’t you? Why would you do something this risky?”

Nia sighed. “Because, I have only a limited time with humans. My duty is to train, not to coddle forever. Once you’re able to use magic well enough to protect yourself and you show that you have a good control over it... I must bid you farewell. Usually that happens within two weeks, maximum. If the human I’m working with doesn’t gain his or her powers by the time the solstice comes around, which is in about two weeks time... they’re taken away.”

That didn’t make any sense. “Taken away by who?”

“The resistance. They take them and try to find a use for them. Usually though, they end up dead in battle, unable to protect themselves.”

“They’re on your side, aren’t they? Why would they do such a thing?”

“Nobody’s perfect. All they want is soldiers to help fight. They don’t care how they get them and how much they put them through. Numbers mean more to them than quality. But their purpose of fighting is better than siding with the government.” She explained with quite a pained tone in her voice. “I can’t fix it. It’s just how it is. I just have to hope I’m able to help within the timeframe so they can go off and help in different ways rather than just in battle.

“Therefore, I’d rather help you unlock something today and work on that so we can get you out of here, okay?”

Xenon didn’t really like the idea, but he understood why Nia was needing to rush things. Since they didn’t seem to be working themselves, she needed to force it out. And she’ll do all of this to then teach you how to use his powers and eventually let him roam free. No matter how badly she might get hurt, her first priority was him.

That made his heart ache. It was such a sad situation but she still put other beings in front of herself. That meant a lot to him.

“Now, are you ready? I’ll explain what I’m going to try to do before I use it on you.” Nia said, patting her hand on his shoulder. He hesitated, but nodded slightly.

“Basically I’m going to send a portion of my mana to you through my palm. Through that process alone, it should stir something within the development. Since my older mana would mix with yours, it’ll cause it to work faster and ultimately create the end product we’re both looking for faster. It probably won’t be immediate, but it happens at a pretty quick pace.” She squeezed her hand around his shoulder gently. “That’s enough to possibly trigger a reaction, so that might cause a transformation. However, if that doesn’t happen, then I’ll have to transfer pretty much everything to you. It’s not a scary thing to do, but it could get overwhelming for you and your body. Prepare for a bit of discomfort or possibly even pain. There’s a small possibility that your body might reject my mana, but that’s extremely rare. It’s only happened once in our record books.”

Xenon didn’t like the sound of her lending him her mana. Not only was it dangerous to him, but it could possibly mark the end of her. If he loses himself and his mind was clouded over... he needed to feel like she could protect herself with her magic. It was a very unsettling thought. To think he could hurt the woman who has been so kind to him... He wouldn’t let that happen.

“If you have to put in most of your mana... promise me you’ll keep enough to protect yourself. I don’t want something going wrong with this.”

“I promise.”

Something told him she was just doing that to comfort him. Regardless of whether that was true or not, she took a shaky breath, and began the process.

Nia put her hand on top of his shoulder, holding it there firmly with a solid grip as she whispered something under her breath. She repeated it over and over again to herself, and slowly but surely, Xenon began to feel some difference within himself.

It was that same cold feeling he had experienced with the fairies, only more frigid, and it was quickly flowing through his veins like water. Soon, the sensation spread throughout every limb, and through his torso, and more was comingin at an alarming rate. His heart was beating rapidly, unable to keep up with the amount of magic piling into his body.

He vaguely remembered Nia removing her hand from his shoulder, but everything was tingling. Despite everything he was feeling, he sat rigid among the fallen log he was sat upon, his hands gripping the bark on both sides of him, his head facing the ground and his eyes glued shut.

He could understand why it would seem that it wasn’t working, but he definitely knew it was. He was beginning to hyperventilate, his heart now throbbing in his chest as every ounce of mana moved within him as his pulse. His heartbeat was the mana, and it felt like something he’d never experienced before.

Then, everything at once shut down. He fell over onto the grass beneath him, clawing at his chest, trying desperately to gasp for air. He felt his heart palpating and then seizing, and then rapidly starting again, sending his pain from medium to hell in the matter of seconds.

Everything around him was still. Nia wasn’t there anymore. Nothing was there. He glanced around him and nothing but grass surrounded him.

He groaned, pressing his hand to his chest, breathing heavily. He needed to calm himself down somehow. He felt tears sting his eyes as the agonizing state he was in became even harder to maintain.

Xenon shut his eyes, and cried out, somehow knowing that this wasn’t even the beginning.

He knew what was happening. His body wasn’t rejecting the mana as he first thought. No, this was different. 

Was he transforming? He felt the burning pain in every limb, and he could hear his bones crackling and snapping back into place, as if they were morphing into a different shape.

This had to be it.

Xenon tried to hold himself together, writhing on the floor, attempting to ignore the pain soaring through him like an endless amount of rage.

What felt like hours later, the pain began to disappear. It lingered, but with every breath, it was getting easier to tolerate. He focused mainly on calming himself down, and making sure the pain that he was left feeling was enough to function with.

Moments later, he opened his eyes. 

Wolf. He was a wolf.

And he was staring right into Nia’s eyes. Nia’s horrified, glossy gray eyes.


	8. 8

She was pinned to the ground, and her arms were being held down by his gigantic paws. He was left with nothing to look at but her terrified gaze, something he’d never forget. He scented blood, but he didn’t know where it was from. It was almost as if he had already attacked her, even though he had just become aware of everything that happened just then.

Whimpering softly, he backed away from Nia, moving his paws away from her arms. No, he couldn’t have done this, could he?

Nia immediately scrambled onto her feet once again, in a stance that meant she was ready to strike at any time. Her frightened eyes turned into determined ones, and she narrowed them as she glared at the wolf who was standing in front of her.

“Xenon,” She said in a calming tone, her voice shaky.

Blood. He could see it now. Licking his chops, he could taste the blood from the wound he had caused. Her leg was bitten, and was bleeding pretty heavily, but it didn’t seem like it bothered her.

Xenon couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. He did this to her. He believed he could control himself, but...

She at once summoned a small mask of ice to wrap around her wound until she found gauze, and then focused her full attention onto Xenon.

“It’s okay. You didn’t mean to do it.” Nia said, holding her hands out in front of her, trying to urge him to calm down.

But he couldn’t. He was antsy. He didn’t want to be around her anymore in fear of him lashing out again. All he wanted to do was to run.

“You were transforming for the first time, anything can happen. It’s truly okay.”

Xenon tucked his ears back, back pedaling further away from Nia.

“It’ll be okay. Please don’t run. I’m okay, and you’re okay. Everything is fine.”

How did he know what would happen next? Though his mind wasn’t clouded at that very moment, it didn’t mean it could happen in the future. There was extreme uncertainty building up within Xenon while in this form. More and more built up as time went on, as if it was a never ending bucket of sand pouring into the sea.

“Xenon. I can’t advise you to run off like this. This form is not only unpredictable, but your mana is not able to keep it up forever. If you run off into the wilderness to avoid this, and any uncertainty you might have... it won’t end well. Unfortunately there are more frightening creatures that lurk the forests.” Nia explained, making a small advance every time she spoke.

Xenon noticed it, but his legs refused to move under him anymore. He was frozen; not only with uncertainty, but fear. There was nothing he could do in this situation. He wanted to run, but he didn’t want to leave Nia alone with that wound. He wanted to stay, but he didn’t want to hurt Nia more than she already was.

It was a fight he had yet to resolve within his canine self.

This whole situation was so unreal to him. One minute he’s himself, equipped with his black and red tinted hair and button up collared shirt, but the next he’s a gigantic pure white wolf who seems to be on a rampage. He began to panic, trying to find a way to escape.

“Just let me help you, okay? I’ll talk you through how to transform back. You just need to be careful. You need to focus on keeping yourself in control. That’s all.” Nia told him, creeping closer to his glued in place self.

Xenon just wanted to help Nia back home, and crawl underneath his covers. He wanted to go back. It was great that he finally unlocked this ability, but now he wanted to stray far from it. He didn’t want to hurt her again. He wanted to seal this part of his magic away.

Nia finally reached him, and carefully gave his head a soft pat, assuring him everything will be fine.

Panicking, Xenon growled, it rumbling low in his throat. He wanted her to stay clear of him.

She stepped back, but seemed to understand the gesture. Although it was a dangerous situation, Xenon found his teacher showing off a smile. Not out of happiness, but rather of pure wonder.

“Well, Xenon. It seems like you’re our first wolf.”

God, just get him out of this, already!

—

Xenon couldn’t have felt more disgusted with himself. Nia and Xenon arrived home after Nia had lead him through the steps he had to take to turn back into himself. Within Epona’s saddle there’s an emergency first aid kit that Nia kept handy for any situation, and Xenon was able to wrap her wound up well enough for them to ride home.

Once they got home, Kyero noticed the bite, and went straight from his normal teenage self to family helper, rushing around to find her medicine and a new bandage. He completely ignored Xenon, and the human feared that Kyero would possibly blame him for it; even more than he was already blaming himself.

Not wanting to know the answer to his question for once, he retreated upstairs to his room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

He just needed space to breathe. Just for once in this life; in this hostile universe he’d been brought into.

Xenon truly was horrified with himself. Of course, he hadn’t meant to hurt Nia; not in the slightest. He couldn’t seem to grab ahold of himself until it was too late. Both of them were aware of what could happen; so therefore it wasn’t necessarily his fault.

Why did he still feel so awful about it?

Maybe it was because Nia had been taking care of him like one of her own. She picked him up alone in the forest and brought him home, clothed him, and fed him. She provided him a room to sleep and taught him everything he should know.

Maybe it was because of the look she gave him while he was on top of her, snarling into her face. That expression of pure fear... it wasn’t anything he wanted to see again.

She was older and maybe a little bit frail, and he really didn’t want to hurt her.

But he did. Did this mean everytime he shifted, he’d have this issue? He didn’t want to hurt anyone with his newfound powers... did he?

Xenon shook his head, stepping away from his door and throwing himself on his bed. His head had been pounding ever since he turned back into his human form, and it was almost to the point where it was debilitating.

He massaged his temples with his head rested on his pillow, overwhelmed with everything.

He was always overwhelmed. So very overwhelmed.

But wasn’t it a natural reaction to all of this? All of this magic, infinite universes, mana shit... how was a normal human supposed to react to everything?

He decided against checking on Nia. It wasn’t a deep wound; it was mainly superficial, therefore it shouldn’t be bad. She should be fine.

Plus he wasn’t sure how her grandson would react to him going into her room to ask how she was doing after he was the one that did it.

He didn’t remember closing his eyes, but soon after he slumped on the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.

~~

_“Welcome back.”_

_A voice he hadn’t heard before greeted him as he began dreaming. He snapped out of his daze, his head shooting upward, noticing he was in a room he’d never seen in his nightmares before._

_It was actually similar to a doctor’s office waiting room. Sterile environment. But you got the tacky wallpaper and awfully installed colored carpet. He could hear a tv on the news channel faintly in the background._

_He was sat in one of the waiting room chairs, and for some odd reason he couldn’t really move himself out. It was like he was shackled in place, but there were no where to be found._

_“Hello?” Xenon called our, trying to wriggle free from his chair._

_A loud laugh erupted from the other room across from him. A figure appeared from the opposite room, and strolled towards Xeno, slowly but confidently._

_“Hello, Xenon.” The figure grabbed a seat from in front of Xenon, and spun it around, sitting down so his chest rests on the back of the chair. “I guess I have to call you that now, huh?” The man was quiet as he watched Xenon struggle to move. “You struggling amuses me. How many times do I have to tell you that it won’t work? I own this world. You can’t escape.”_

_Xenon was wordless. Here he was, staring at a large shadowy being who he only presumed was male due to his deep booming voice. He was absolutely powerless here, yet somehow he knew that he shouldn’t be afraid of it._

_“Ah, perhaps their memory spell worked. I was about to say, the fact that you forgot about me is insulting, but I’ll let this one time slide.” He said, smiling devilishly. He then clapped his hands together. “Anyway, I’m going to make this quick. Don’t trust anyone. The Being might’ve struck a deal between you and I, but that doesn’t mean we’re not vulnerable to what awaits us in this world. You must tread carefully. If you can no longer protect yourself, you can always call me.” His laugh echoed throughout the empty doctor’s office. “I’ll handle it, alright? You just do what you feel is right.”_

_The dream was already beginning to flicker, like an old tv receiving static._

_“Listen to me, San. You’re not alone. You have your trusty follower at your service. If anything happens, and you can’t handle it, I will take over, whether you like it or not.” The shadow said, showing Xenon a bright white smile before fading almost completely. “I’m here to protect you. Together we can do anything.”_

He awoke to the sound of someone pounding on his door.

“Xenon! Are you okay?!”


	9. 9

Xenon was hopelessly confused. 

Kyero had practically burst into his room, screaming Xenon’s name. And for what?m

All he had was a dream.

Xenon ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’m uh... I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Kyero asked, seeming out of breath. “Nia and I heard you shouting.”

What?

Xenon blinked. “I was napping.”

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Honestly, he wasn’t sure how to categorize the dream he had just witnessed. Was it a dream? Was it a nightmare?

Xenon shrugged. “Possibly. I really don’t know.”

Kyero gripped the outside door handle tight, frowning in dismay. “Oh... Well... I wanted to make sure you were alright. They didn’t sound quite right, those noises. It was kind of concerning.”

The human was perplexed. “Oh, I’m sorry, then.”

The two existed quietly next to each other for a few moments, not daring to utter a single word.

Xenon cleared his throat. “How is she?”

Kyero shook his head, knocking himself out of his daze he was supposedly in. “Oh, she should be okay. We have some elixirs that help with healing, so I rubbed that on her leg. It should be healed up by tomorrow.”

The black and red haired boy sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. I was worried sick.”

Kyero gave him a small chuckle. “She’s very strong, you know? My grandmother has dealt with pretty much everything, considering she’s nearly 300. This isn’t the first time she’s come back with something like that, though it was nasty.”

She’s 300? Xenon felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his head if he continued eyeing the little elf in front of him. “Oh. Was it that bad looking?”

Kyero nodded. “Unfortunately I’ve never seen a wolf bite before, so I couldn’t truly say if it was super bad or not. But it definitely wasn’t your usual scrape in the Fae Forest.”

The human boy bit his lip, now aware that he knew about it. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, you know.”

Kyero showed him a smallsmile. “I know. It’s okay. I know what happened, she told me. There’s no need to feel bad. If you couldn’t control it, then you couldn’t control it. I remember when I couldn’t control my magic. I whipped both my parents and my grandmother by accident. They weren’t horrible injuries, but it’s just something everyone goes through here.”

Hearing those words was somewhat comforting. It was a natural thing here. Xenon just hadn’t known that.

“Xenon? Before I go, may I ask a question?”

The human nodded. “Sure.”

Kyero’s expression changed from happy to excited in the matter of seconds. “How was it? Transforming into a creature? Was it cool? Did you feel any different? How do you pee?”

Xenon chuckled softly, and walked up to the blue haired elf, patting his head gently.He was fine. Why in the world was he truly worried about the boy? He’s more mature than he is, and he’s sure that he’s only 10, but who knew if that age was in human years or elven years.

Kyero and Xenon spoke for a while, both of them draped across Xenon’s tiny bed, stretching their legs out over the edge. 

The boy kept talking away about his fascination in one day becoming a teacher like his grandmother, traveling around the kingdom in search of pupils. Everyone has some sort of different magic depending on the realm, and he dreamed of one day being able to study how it works and what their attributes are.

It was definitely interesting to hear, but what caught Xenon’s attention the most was that he mentioned that without safety and with the tyrants holding the capital hostage over the power of elves, he wouldn’t be able to do it.

“I feel that you’ll finally be the person we’ve been waiting for.” He said, a grin reaching the edges of his large triangular ears. “If you finally fulfil the prophecy, I’ll finally be able to explore the world I was born into.”

Xenon really admired the boy. After all, he was completely forced to be family-oriented, putting his true passion on hold for whatever was threatening their race as a whole.

He was stronger than he ever was.

After about an hour of talking about whatever came to mind, Kyero left the room when Nia called for his help with some chores. Though he left reluctantly, Xenon was relieved that he did.

He desperately needed to write down everything that happened in his dream, otherwise he’d forget it.

~~~

Day 4 of transforming had come along quickly. It was like his days with him, because they were limited, were starting and ending faster than the speed of light.

He was so focused on gaining control of his wolf self that it took over his will for anything else. He’d start before Nia was even up, and finish a long while after dinner finished.

After many more talks with Nia, she decided to mainly focus on the first attribute that revealed itself, since we didn’t have nearly enough time to try to unlock his second ability. Their days were running out; he had just two more days to practice before he was on his own.

That was extremely scary to think about, but he was beginning to believe that he was ready. He could transform in and out with ease, simply by jumping in the air andcommanding his mana flow to turn from human to wolf. Of course, it didn’t work every time, but every day it was getting better.

While in his canine form, Nia taught him a few things. He could still pull off some basic spells as a wolf; spells that were able to be used by every sorcerer in the world. Ones like patching up small wounds, helping identify edible food in a wilderness environment, and the ability to light a fire with just a couple of words.

Everything was finally coming together, and Xenon couldn’t be any happier.

Except...

The dream kept eating away at him. He scribbled down the main points that he was still trying to identify what they meant.

First one was: Who was the shadow? 

He never gave him a name, yet he claimed that Xenon had known him beforehand, in his life with Wooyoung. Just who was he to him? His conscience? A spirit? He wasn’t certain.

Second:

How often was he approached by him? He briefly mentioned that he had told him several times that he couldn’t get out of the invisible restraints. So therefore that meant he had been there before a few times beforehand.

Third: What was this man capable of? 

Clearly he possessed some sort of magic; a magic that even Xenon with his power of smelling and seeing auras couldn’t identify. There was nothing right about the shadow. It was just like it was a cold breeze had manifested into something.

Thinking about that alone caused him to shiver. He definitely wasn’t sure he wanted to figure out this one.

Lastly: San.

He had referred to him as San... Not Xenon. Perhaps this was his name before he died and was reborn? What did it even mean?

San. San? San...

Somehow it felt right on his tongue. Maybe he was right about it. But, he didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

By god, he was dying to find out more. However, he just had to be patient.


	10. 10

“Xenon.”

Xenon shifted in his bed, turning onto his right side, hearing his door creak on its hinges as someone pushed it open.

All he could manage in his groggy state was a quiet hum, opening one eye to glance at who it was.

Nia. What did she want? It was still dark outside.

“I’m sorry to wake you up, but I’d like to tell you something. Can I come in?”

Xenon blinked slowly, but nodded, twisting over onto his other side again, sighing deeply.

He could hear her tiny feet slap the polished wooden floors as she walked inside, shutting the door as gently as she could.

“You’re not sleeping again, are you?”

He held his arm up in the air, gesturing for her to continue, allowing her to realize that he was still partially awake.

“The Resistance came. They ordered me to hand you over.”

Xenon’s grogginess washed away almost immediately. He shot up out of bed, sitting up to face her, rubbing his eyes. “What?”

Nia shushed him sternly, making him aware of the fact that Kyero was still sleeping across the hall. “They came to the house way earlier than usual. They demanded that I handed the newest born over, but I told them you had already left the home.

“Unfortunately, I can only lie to them for so long. I’m sure they knew I was only trying to trick them so I could help you escape... Therefore, you’ll have to leave before dawn. They’ll be back for you; I can sense it.”

The human blinked. “You want me to leave? But I haven’t completed my training.”

Nia hummed in frustration. “I’m aware of that, but things have changed. If they find that you’re here, they won’t stop for anything until they have you, even if that means threatening or kidnapping Kyero.” She said, a tinge of worry in her voice. “Besides, I have put my faith in you. You’re capable of learning on your own. I know you’ll do great things in this world, so I don’t think I’m needed anymore.”

Xenon again, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you sure? I’m still having some difficulty-“

“You’re going to have to learn on your own. I’m trying to protect you here, and I have no other choice but to help you pack something and send you away.” Nia declared, pacing over to the wardrobe, and taking out the small satchel inside the drawer below the hanging clothes. Shuffling towards the chest, she began to fold the outfits one by one and throws them inside, as if she’s packing for him. “Now, hurry. I’ll help you gather things for your journey ahead, you must get washed up and ready to leave.”

Xenon, although dazed, didn’t take a second to leap into action. He threw on yesterday’s outfit which was tossed over his chest, stumbling and tripping over his feet to get to the bathroom.

He quickly washed his face and did the normal things in his morning routine, only faster. He managed to finish in record time, and he darted out of there in about five minutes.

He made sure to grab the journal full of notes, and slid it in between his clothes. He’d have to analyze later. Right now, it was time to freak out and figure out what he was going to do.

Nia and Xenon hiked downstairs, and Nia lead him into the kitchen, handing him loads and loads of dried fruit and meals for the road.

“There are a good variety of fruits in here, but I’m sure you won’t let them go to waste. And I packed you some chicken and beef jerky. There wasn’t much else I could do, as most of it would have to be eaten within the day.” She said with a quick apologetic smile. It faded faster than it appeared as she turned and sped into the food pantry.

She gave him a large tin meant for water, and it was filled with a generous amount of cash. “This should help you out. I don’t expect such a good eater as yourself to only survive on what I gave you, so this should help with any tools or necessities should you find yourself in a town nearby.”

Xenon was finding it hard to gather his words. What could he say in this situation?

It was probably better if he said nothing and listened to the distressed elf. They didn’t have time; Nia was only doing what she could before they returned.

“Remember to be kind to people. Most elves don’t have much to lose, but I know some wish for something to hope for. I’m certain you’ll be that thing for them.”

Nia ran around her house frantically, making sure everything was provided for him, before she opened the front door.

The brisk night air brushed across Xenon’s warm arms, and from the door all he could see was a looming darkness over the home.

He was about to step out when Kyero came tumbling down the stairs.

“Kyero!” Nia said, shocked at the sudden appearance of her grandson.

He was sporting a huge bedhead, but that was the least of Xenon’s concerns. Instead, he focused on the tears threatening to escape the boy’s eyes as he threw himself onto the human, wrapping his arms around his waist, squeezing his friend into a hug.

Nia watched as the boy clutched Xenon’s legs, just wanting to hug him before he had to disappear. Her melancholy expression had evolved into a sorrowful one, seeing her grandson hug the only friend he’s had the privilege of talking to since his parents passed. She felt bad to push Xenon away, but that’s what she had to do in order to ensure his safety.

After a brief moment of confusion, Xenon bent down and hugged the boy properly, bringing him up into his arms, letting the boy wrap himself around his neck, sobbing.

“Kyero, buddy. I need you to promise me something, okay?”

Kyero sniffled loudly, nodding into the crook of Xenon’s neck, before letting out another small whimper.

“Promise me that you’ll take care of your grandmother and that stubborn horse the best you can, okay?”

He heard Kyero croak a small “yes” in his ear, trying to put himself back together.

“Also, don’t ever give up on that dream of yours. It’ll come true.”

Kyero peeled himself away from Xenon’s shoulder that he was resting on, looking him in the eye and giving him a smile before wiping his tears away with his hand. “O-Okay.”

Moments later, Kyero was beside his grandmother, holding her hand tightly as they both watched Xenon walk away from the house down the path made entirely of pebbles. They could distinguish his shoes picking up and crackling the stones for longer than what they could see, but even after they knew he was truly gone, they kept watch.

They kept watch hoping that they would see him again. 

But, they never would.

~~

Xenon had been walking for about an hour, as he hadn’t dared to stop while he was so close to their home. He could still smell their distinct scents; the aroma of honey and smoke mixed together with a strong overtaking of lavender.

Unfortunately, he knew it would take longer for him to get away from the scents than the home, as now he couldn’t recognize where he was.

He was surrounded by an endless amount of rolling hills, which was quite different from the pastures he had been living beside for most of his time. There was little sign of any village nearby as all he could truly see was tall grass dancing alongside the breeze.

At this rate, he wouldn’t reach anything until the sun came up. Nia had handed him a map of the region right before Kyero had came down to say goodbye.

Though his only source of light was the moon, his eyes treated the paper as if it were luminated with a flashlight. He presumed it was because wolves in this realm have great vision and could see as accurately as cats do at night.

He just had to follow this path for a couple more hours. That’s all he had to do. 


End file.
